Family Dollar to focus on urban stores and home

NEW YORK — Family Dollar Stores plans to improve the performance of its urban stores, open 500 to 560 stores this year, and increase its focus on home by upgrading the merchandise quality and adding more special events, company President and Chief Operating Officer David Alexander said during at presentation at the Piper Jaffray Consumer Conference yesterday.

More than two-thirds of consumer spending takes place in the 50 top urban markets, Alexander said, but Family Dollar has seen a major gap between the performance of its rural and urban markets. “We are seeing opportunities in these underserved markets. Our urban initiative is designed to address the unique challenges of stores in urban areas,” Alexander added.